Cash and cash equivalents

2017

2016

Deposits

282

33

Cash at bank and in hand

596

556

Payments in transit

19

10

Bills of exchange

2

5

Total

899

604

Cash at year-end 2017 was not being used as collateral and therefore was not restricted (2016: restricted for €1 million). In a few countries DSM faces cross-border foreign exchange controls and/or other legal restrictions that limit its ability to make these balances available on short notice for general use by the group. The amount of cash held in these countries was €116 million (2016: €109 million). The cash will generally be invested or held in the relevant country and, given the other capital resources available to the group, does not significantly affect the ability of the group to meet its cash obligations.

Cash held by DSM includes cash from certain associates and joint ventures that continue to participate in the cash-pooling arrangements of DSM. At the end of 2017, the amount had decreased by €43 million to €19 million. See also Note 21 'Current liabilities'.